Easy chairs are a type of chair that is suitable for leisure time use, especially in the garden or camping. These chairs include a back, a seat, and a leg rest, with a piece of fabric stretched over the surfaces formed by these elements. They can both be folded and inclined freely.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,926 discloses one such chair, which is illustrated in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, this chair comprises a frame forming a back 1; two parallel side members 2 forming a seat, which are articulated in the vicinity of the lower end of back frame 1; a U-shaped frame forming a leg rest 3; two leg units 35 and 36; and a quadrilateral formed by the back, the leg rest, the side member of the seat and a sliding rod 5 of an armrest 4, on which there is a sliding fork yoke 7 slidably disposed over the sliding rod 5 for locking and maintaining an inclined back angle of the chair. When a user sits on the chair and adjusts the incline of the back 1, the entire base formed by front and rear leg units 36 and 35 as well as the sliding fork yoke 7, which is fixed at the top place of the front leg 36, is stationary. In contrast, the sliding rod 5 moves within the sleeve of the sliding fork yoke 7. Because the sliding fork yoke 7, with a locking means 8 thereon, is placed too close to the user's hand, it would hurt the user's hand when the user adjusts the back incline angle or when the user opens or closes the easy chair. It is not safe for use when transmission of movement between the back 1 and the leg rest 3 takes place, because the sliding fork yoke 7 is stationary while the sliding rod 5 slides due to the back rotating around hinge 24, which is located on the lower end of the back frame 3 for articulating with the armrest. The manipulations for adjusting incline angle may lead to biting of the user's fingers.
Moreover, in order to adjust the incline of the back 1 and the leg rest 3, there is a need to set several adjustment screws (not shown) over the sliding tube 5 underneath the armrest 4, because the sliding fork yoke 7 is placed in an improper position. Thus, the configuration of the armrest 4 is not neat and has an ugly and random looking appearance. The position of the sliding fork yoke 7 is undesirable. Accordingly, there is a need in the art to develop an easy chair with a more desirable sliding fork position.